The following interview was conducted with Eric Domenech, frontman and vocalist of the Cuban Death Metal band, BLINDER.
1. Hails! Can you tell us something about the formation of BLINDER and which bands influenced your sound?
BLINDER is a Melodic Death Thrash Metal band originally from the city of Santa Clara, Cuba, it was formed in 1998 after the disintegration of Medium, one of the most prestigious and energetic Cuban metal bands in those years. In reality, we have been influenced by several bands and different genres, not to mention that each of us has our own references that have benefited us when creating, although we always try to be ourselves.
2. How's the scene in your city Santa Clara? Do you feel like it’s hard to get noticed as a band due to being from Cuba?
Santa Clara is known as the metal city of Cuba for its relevant history within national rock, especially within metal. It is also known for organizing the oldest and most important rock festival in the country called Ciudad Metal, of which I was the organizer for 15 years. It has been quite difficult for Cuban bands to make ourselves known both outside and inside the country and more due to the limitations and obstacles of the system we have, however we are persevering and have made discrete progress.
3. How would you describe the sound of Blinder to those who have never heard you before?
We are a band with 25 years of existence with a sound characterized essentially by a Death Metal base and over time we have been incorporating influences from Melodeath, thrash and technicalism as well as elements of Afro-Cuban folk in search of a certain identity.
4. I listened to your album "Syncretic" from 2016 “and I really enjoyed it. I feel like this album has a unique sound and the underproduced sound gives it an organic feel. What can you tell us about the recording of this album and looking back on it now, are you happy with the result?
In reality, the sound achieved was not intentional, our aspirations were to obtain a high-level product but we did not have a decent recording studio or an experienced producer, so we had to make do with the few resources available, but the most important thing was show our music and in my opinion the objective was more than achieved despite everything.
5.
Can you tell us about your lyrics and what kind of topics you explore?
I am quite open when it comes to composing lyrics as long as it identifies with the music we make, Cuba is a quite atypical country and it serves as a source of inspiration for me without fall into social or political issues.
6. How is life for the average metalhead in Cuba? Would you consider music as a form of escapism? I have noticed that people in Cuba are really passionate about music and very supportive of local bands, regardless of the restrictions in your country.
The desire to release and perform the music that we feel and that runs strongly through our veins plus the support that we have constantly had from the public that has always been and will be a great source of inspiration, all of this revitalizes you and gives you energy to face the future and it encourages you to continue composing more songs, make recordings and continue playing as long as we can.
7. What are 10 albums you can't live without?
There are many albums that have marked my life, they
are:
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
Van Halen - Van Halen I
Mercyful Fate - Don't break the Oath
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Metallica - Ride the lightning
Death - Spiritual Healing
Entombed- Left hand Path
Morbid Angel - Altar of Madness
Dream Theater - Images and Words
There are many more but remember these have been the most important.
8. I like the cover art for Syncretic! It has an underground aesthetic and appeal. What was the idea behind it and who did the artwork?
I am a graduate of the professional art school so I am in charge of all the design and graphic concept of the band, I had made the cover some time ago as part of a series of drawings that I made and we were given the opportunity to edit the album spontaneously and it seemed like the right one to reflect the idea we were looking for with the album.
9. What albums have you been listening to lately? Do you have any favorite albums from 2023?
I listen to a lot of music and different genres of metal, I liked the latest ones from The Halo Effects, Aborted, In Flames, Orbit Culture, Cannibal Corpse..., and from 2023 one of the albums that impressed me the most was Cattle Decapitation – Terrasite.
10. Does the environment influence your outlook and inspire you to be creative as a musician?
Exactly as I mentioned before, my lyrics reflect the environment that surrounds me and the same thing happens with music in the creation process, Cuba is a very different country and what better reason to make brutal music, haha.
11. Do metal bands in Cuba support each other or is there a lot of competition in the scene?
The Cuban metal scene has always been united and there are no differences, you can see a show with metal, punk or grunge bands at the same time, this unity has allowed us to form a solid movement that is very necessary to confront the prejudices and obstacles we face subjected.
12. Thank you for your time! Before we end this interview, can you tell us something about your future plans and when you will record your next album?
At the moment we are immersed and working very hard on new songs with the idea of recording a new album by the end of the year, in fact we are already handling special guests and we come with a more technical, fresh and aggressive sound. I just have to thank you for the interview and for your great support.